For thousands of years, libraries in China were treated as book repositories
and remained closed to the public. It was not until the end of Imperial China and the establishment of a Republican China (1911) that the first public libraries became available. The Republic of China Era (1912-1949) witnessed various changes, including: an increased literacy level among the general public, the advent of modern school systems, the development of modern public libraries, the discovery of childhood, the growth of child welfare, and the flourishing of children’s literature. Youth services at public libraries in China emerged in this environment. Since 1909, pioneering librarians began to address the needs of children in professional settings by introducing Western youth service models and discussing how to establish, organize, and operate a children’s library in China. The first children’s reading rooms were founded in public libraries in the late 1910s, which predated the other elements of youth services librarianship. In response to the publication peak of children’s reading materials since the 1920s, librarians set standards for book selection and built library collections to meet children’s reading interests and needs. Moreover, children’s libraries gradually developed group methods to connect children with texts. In the 1930s, programs, such as reading guidance, reader’s club, storytelling, and exhibits became a viable part of youth services. The foundation of the Library Association of China in 1925, and the Resolution of 1933, stipulating that every library should have a children’s reading room, further advocated and formalized youth services. The above factors converged historically and contributed to the development and progress of youth services in public libraries in China from the founding of the Republic of China to the eve of the Sino-Japanese War (1912-1937).